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Trying to marry a foreigner

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PSU_04

Junior Member
I live in Pennsylvania. My girlfriend is a resident of NY. She was originally from the Ukraine, and her and her mother have been in the U.S. for 12 years. After 9/11, she said they were told they had to leave the country. To avoid this, she married a guy she knew very little to get a green card. Of course, within 3 months they separated, and have now been separated for over a year. She and I would like to get married, but she says that she needs to stay officially 'married' to this other guy for 6 more months to get a green card. She says that if she gets a divorce and marries me, it will take years longer for this to happen.

What is the best course of action here in order for us to get married without her getting deported, and without me going to jail? She will not need to have the ability to work (I can provide for her). I do not like the idea of her being married (even for 6 months) to this other guy in fear that he may try to ruin her finances, amongst other things.

thank you!
 


ImmigAttyLana

Senior Member
She is unlikely to get a green card on the basis of that marriage if she only stayed married to him for 3 months and has no proof of joint ties with that man. You should see exactly what is supposed to happen in 6 months, that she is talking about--the interview with the local USCIS office or what? Typically, at the interview, both spouses have to present themselves to the USCIS and present supporting documentation of their joint life together--leases, bank accounts, credit cards, insurance, photos, etc. and then wait for the USCIS to make a decision. Even if status is granted, it is typically the conditional permanent residence status if the people were married for less than two years and then they have to stay together for another 2 years so that she can have the conditional status removed from her green card. So, I am certain that either she does not know how the entire process works, or there is something else involved there that would be prudent to check out.
 

PSU_04

Junior Member
Thanks for responding, Lana.

Did you have any advice for me, or maybe some things I could say to her that would appeal to her logically? They were married in December of 2001, and it sounds like, from what you're saying, that she won't be able to remove the non-conditional status until December 2005.
 

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